26 PROJECT REPORT: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN
residents, with most of the home technology “running in the background.” Nonetheless, he explains that they were given a “detailed home user guide to ensure any questions were answered.” The controls were kept as simple as possible, for example a dial in the kitchen to control the MVHR boost for cooking or bathing.
MVHR was used internally in Phase 1a, and this is the intention for all future phases. Communal plant has been installed on the roof, to provide convenient access for maintenance purposes – and because it provides a cleaner air source. Looking ahead to the rest of the development, the third phase will use an all-electric system with communal air source heat pumps, an ambient loop and a unit-based water-to-water heat pump and tank, only possible due to the recent decarbonisation of electricity in the national grid.
AGAR GROVE AWARDS
CIBSE Awards 2020: Project of the Year – Residential (Winner) New London Awards 2019: Overall Winner; Sustainability Prize (Winner); Housing (Shortlisted) London Planning Awards 2019: The Mayor’s Award for Good Growth (Winner); The Mayor’s Award for Sustainable and Environmental Planning (Winner) Housing Design Awards 2019: Completed (Shortlisted) RTPI Awards 2019: Excellence in Planning for Homes – Small (Shortlisted) The Sunday Times British Homes Awards 2018: Development of the Year – More than 100 homes (Shortlisted) The Sunday Times British Homes Awards 2015: Housing Project (Commendation) Housing Design Awards 2015: Project Schemes (Winner) BD Architect of the Year Awards 2014: Masterplanning & Public Realm (Shortlisted) BD Architect of the Year Awards 2013: Masterplanning & Public Realm (Shortlisted)
Further key sustainability design measures on the project include a site-wide SuDS strategy, centred around permeable paving and attenuation, and an emphasis on biodiversity. “Biodiversity targets are based on Camden’s own standards and have resulted in most roofs being either green or planted as a wildflower meadow.” Over 100 bird and bat boxes will also be installed across the estate in what Woodward describes as “suitable locations integrated into the brick facades.”
Reconnection
One of the major focuses for the masterplan was improving the layout of the estate and its connection with the wider area – a task Woodward says was an essential part of improving the estate as a place to live. “The existing estate had a perimeter fence, and no clear hierarchy between public and semi- private spaces,” he says. “Landscaping was poorly programmed, and mainly acted as a buffer space to ground floor bedrooms.” The layout was reconfigured to make it “coherent,” connecting the estate to the city via pedestrian and cycle paths. Vehicle access has also been provided although the only parking included in the masterplan was for existing blue badge holders. If and when residents move, the plan is that the parking spaces will be given back to the landscape. At ground level the practice included maisonettes which allowed them to lift the bedrooms previously at this level up and away from the street. A two storey plinth in the form of different textured brickwork to that above “gives a more expressed character to the elements closest to the street, with deeper window sills and juliette balustrades,”
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says Woodward. Residents benefit from “passive surveillance” from the waist-height kitchen windows. Double height communal entrances also sit within the plinth – these provide a direct view through to the communal garden upon entering. The facade is predominantly brick, with
reconstituted stone; both materials chosen to complement the surrounding buildings. Stone banding was included to give “depth and detail,” and “break up what could otherwise be quite a dominant facade,” says Woodward. Decorative metalwork was also included in the form of a side panel to windows, doors and balconies, further reducing the proportion of brick and, explains Woodward, “ensuring a low proportion of glazing for the north facade, minimising heat loss as there would be relatively little gain on this elevation.” The building was designed to bring in as much natural light as possible into both flats and communal areas such as stairwells and corridors. The flats give residents a larger living area than they previously had – Woodward states the practice’s previous work “helped with producing efficient flat and core layouts.”
Moving forwards
Completion is hard to put a time on due to the single phase decant – each phase requires demolition before construction can begin, which in turn relies on the previous phase being completed so residents can move. The budget is also frequently re-appraised as the market fluctuates, dictated by the potential value of the homes to be privately sold. With residents now living in Phase 1a,
Woodward says they’re currently measuring a 70% reduction in their energy bills – it had been estimated a 90% reduction could be possible. “Residents are very happy, especially those that came from overcrowded homes, and those who have purpose-built wheelchair homes for the first time,” says Woodward. Looking ahead to the rest of the project,
Woodward says one of the biggest challenges is going to be applying the Passivhaus construction methodology that Hawkins\Brown developed to the new build tower in Phase 2b. He also anticipates the retrofit of the existing tower will “bring its own complications with extending floorplates and the compromises required when dealing with existing structures.” Performance measurement is being carried out within the completed apartments to enable lessons to be learned for the future phases, as well as a qualitative survey of how residents are using their new homes.
ADF DECEMBER 2021
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